Concentrating Solar Power

With both countries having the presence of factors like increasing costs of fossil fuels, supportive government policies, and favorable weather, Spain and the United States are seen dominating the global solar thermal market. According to a report by GBI Research, Spain has so far the largest market share for concentrated solar power, covering 65 percent of total installed capacity at 1,002 megawatts in 2011.

There’s one renewable energy technology that might just withstand the export restrictions that China is imposing on vital renewables component rare earth metals, according to a report from Sweden-based Chalmers University of Technology – concentrating solar power.
“The prospects for strong growth for CSP over the next few decades seem good,” says Dr. Erik Pihl, lead author.

French manufacturer of semiconductor materials Soitec finished construction and grid connection for the largest concentrator photovoltaic solar power plant in Italy, a 1.17-megawatt facility in Sicily. Located in Belpasso municipality in the Catania province, the facility is expected to generate enough clean power for 300 homes and offset 125 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

Abengoa took in an additional $125 million in investment for its 280-megawatt Solana concentrating solar power plant in Arizona. The investment comes from Capital Riesgo Global, a subsidiary of Spanish banking group Banco Santander. In return it will have an equity stake in the project.

The Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Plant, the world’s largest concentrating solar power plant being built which uses molten salt, finished an important construction stage this week with the completion of its 540-foot tower. The tower is a vital part of the project. A receiver tank containing a mix of molten sodium and potassium salts will be placed on top of it.

BrightSource Energy has secured the funds for the Ivanpah solar power project in California’s Mojave Desert, marked by a new federal loan and new investment from Google Inc. BrightSource secured a $1.6 billion loan from the United States Department
of Energy for Ivanpah, a project which consists of three utility-scale solar thermal power plants that together will make up the largest solar project of its kind in the world.

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